Is there anyway I can open attachments in non-compatible doc formats?

[FlamingoBingo]

I've been sent two documents that aren't in a format that my computer recognises, so I can't open them Is there any way I can open them, or do I have to get her to send them again?

what format are they in?

.DOCX ?

If they are docx or other Office 2007 files you can downoad a convector so you can read them in Office 2003. If they are powerpoint files and you don't have PowerPoint you can download a PowerPoint reader.

For other files you may be able to find a free program to read them.

one is .docx and the other is .pub

Where might I be able to find a 'convector'?

Done the docx one using google docs. Still working on the .pub one - any ideas?

MS office convertor

(sorry, convector was an iPad autocorrect)

You need to read the system requirements before you use it, but you do need an earlier version of Office.
most home versions of office don't have Publisher at all -not sure if there's a Publisher reader.

Assuming you have Word, the converter is the best solution, if not LibreOffice 3 can read docx format.

.pub is a MS Publisher document. Look for a Publisher reader.

There's an online service called Zamzar, which claims to convert MS Publisher to PDF. I've never tried it, check it out carefully if you want to sue it.

"not sure if there's a Publisher reader"

I searched for one but as indicated it seems Microsoft chose not to provide anything for this. One suggestion was to use a trial version to view such documents.

For lecturing staff saw a recommendation that they make PDFs if possible, as those can be viewed far more easily.